Byron Buxton leaves Twins game after being hit by pitch; two Twins on verge of returning from injuries

After Byron Buxton was hit by a 96-mph sinker on his right forearm Wednesday, his right hand went numb.

Buxton was examined by assistant trainer Masa Abe on a slow walk to first base. The examination, and a chat with manager Rocco Baldelli, continued through a pitching change, and for about another minute after the next Philadelphia Phillies reliever completed his warmup pitches.

He talked his way into remaining on the basepaths, but he didn’t return to the field when the numbness persisted. An X-ray didn’t show a fracture — the Twins announced the injury as a right forearm contusion — and Buxton says he plans to play this weekend in Detroit.

“It ain’t broken, so I’m good,” Buxton said. “Normally, that’s what happens, so I’m always on the positive side when nothing crazy happens.”

When Buxton was asked if the numbness in his hand subsided after the Twins’ 5-4 walk-off win, he said he probably needed a few more hours.

“Everything Masa was doing on the field, Buck was like, ‘It feels OK because I can’t feel it at all,’” Baldelli said. “We left him out there to give us a shot on the bases. It sounds like he’s going to be OK. We’re going to have to check on him, but some of the stuff these guys deal with during these games is pretty amazing.”

Royce Lewis is expected to rejoin the Twins on Friday after he hit a double and drew a walk in four plate appearances during the St. Paul Saints’ 6-2 home win over the Omaha Storm Chasers on Wednesday.

Lewis was scheduled to travel with the Twins to Detroit following his game with the Saints. He played third base Tuesday and served as the designated hitter Wednesday.

“Makes you think about when everyone’s healthy and back, it’s going to be scary,” Max Kepler said following the Twins’ series win over the Phillies.

Jose Miranda started his rehab assignment Wednesday with two hits in four at-bats while playing third base. He’s scheduled to play another rehab game with St. Paul on Thursday before rejoining the Twins in Detroit.

Carlos Correa, who remained in a walking boot Wednesday, said he will not travel with the Twins as they begin their road trip.

Justin Topa was supposed to begin a rehab assignment with the Saints, but he was stuck in Fort Myers, Fla., after flight cancellations last weekend.

“After three canceled flights on Saturday and about eight hours in the airport, it was enough to say, ‘Let’s give it a few days and let this all cool down from the airport standpoint,’” he said.

Topa, who was in Fort Myers to throw live batting practice sessions during the all-star break, stayed long enough to make a Class A rehab appearance Tuesday. He pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout and a walk as the Mighty Mussels completed a rain-shortened no-hitter in six innings.

It’s his second time on a rehab assignment this season. He was shut down in May after he was diagnosed with a partially torn left patellar tendon.

“I feel really optimistic after [Tuesday],” said Topa, who returned to Minnesota on a Wednesday morning flight and expects to pitch for the Saints on Friday. “[The injury] wasn’t even in my mind. I was just focused on pitching.”

⋅ Kepler became the 12th Twin to reach 500 RBI with the club. “I’m grateful, sometimes in awe of what I’ve accomplished,” he said. “Going home, I try to process it to myself. But I just try to stay present and keep the ball moving.”

⋅ Infielder Diego A. Castillo was designated for assignment and reliever Ronny Henriquez was optioned to AAA before Wednesday’s game to make room on the roster for pitchers Brock Stewart and David Festa.

⋅ The Twins announced they signed 18 of their 22 draft picks. First-round pick Kaelen Culpepper, a shortstop from Kansas State, remains unsigned, but they signed all their other picks from the first 14 rounds.